


Cookery

by kirakirakirari



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: AUs, F/M, I know nothing about cookery, In which Nyo England actually knows her food is not good, Nyotalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2015-01-11
Packaged: 2018-03-07 03:13:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3159116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirakirakirari/pseuds/kirakirakirari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>KikuAlice: You filled my world green and turned it into wonderland.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cookery

**Author's Note:**

> There will be more grammar errors (and probably spellings, but I hope not.) And I do apologize for Kiku's OOCness.

The cookery centre is located in a narrow alley, which has obviously never been paid attention to. Alice doesn't know why someone bothers to open a class there at the first place, but she isn't able to judge, is she? She's come a long way to here (5 kilometres, to be exact) and she refuses to waste her energy. Something must be done. (She blames Amelia, really, "the fee is low and the teacher is described good-looking and well-mannered", ha!). Anyway, according to Amelia, when girls need to learn to cook well, there must be some kind of motivation.

Motivation is slightly taller than her (Is that average height for an Asian?), and rather good-looking with black hair and dark eyes. But if you say he's qualified as polite, Alice will definitely give you a good kick.

The first day, everyone has to learn how to make appetizer, and Alice decides she'll choose salad, because it seems easy enough. But when she begins, the corner of her eyes twitches. Lettuce, cucumber, carrot… all of them give her headache. The teacher – Kiku Honda, why does she have the feeling that she's heard his name before? – glances at her shaking (because of annoyance) hands, which is chopping the vegetables. He frowns and looks at her for a good one minute before flashing a really nice smile and commenting. "It seems you have to wait for hundred years to get married."

Calm down, Alice, calm down, don't throw anything at him, he doesn't mean it, he's just being honest… She can endure this. She definitely doesn't know him, because Alice is pretty sure that she can never forget someone as rude as that.

After two hours of working hard, the results are: three broken dishes, five shattered cups, and a deep cut in her index finger. She ignores the quiet murmurs amongst the other girls.

"What a clumsy girl!"

"I bet she's never been in kitchen before."

"Has her mother not taught her?"

No, don't get angry, Alice, control your temper…

She registers to the class, and Kiku looks at her with an unreadable expression:

"Are you sure?"

"Didn't you hear that I have no mother to teach me?"

* * *

She refuses to give up, even though those lessons are starting to haunt her. And when she complains to Amelia, her friend just shrugs, "I've heard he's rather picky when it comes to cooking." Understatement of many centuries.

She's the only student who has to do extra work after class. Extra work means washing dishes that others have left after they're done. And Kiku always critizes her about 'the inability to distinguish salt and sugar'. After a bunch of that and that, he always comes up with the same: "It seems you have to wait for hundred years to get married." Of course, he still says that with a disturbingly gentle smile.

She doesn't reply. She won't let his words affect her.

* * *

She's never allowed to touch or prepare the main course. All she does is washing dishes and prepare ingredient, and Kiku doesn't bother to encourage her. Alice's perfectly fine that way, to be honest. After two months of learning, her skill hasn't been risen a bit. Sometimes, she tries to make simple breakfast at home for her brothers, Allison has freaked out, but Alex tries a bit and says 'Not bad', and Alice allows herself to relax. Of course Allison is still skeptical to try, but at the end of the day, he comes back from work and tells her, "Alice, make breakfast from now on, it keeps me from going late for work."

But she has a bigger joy. After an extremely hard test, she presents her soup to him.

"Average." He nods his head. Alice responds with a wide smile.

Few minutes later, as she has expected, his face starts to become really really green. Oh no, she's pretty sure that he isn't sick. When he hastily asks what she has added to the soup, she replies innocently. "Scones." Even Alex is scared of her scones.

_Payback, done._

She pretends not to be involved when he looks like he's about to faint.

She finds out from a girl later, that Kiku is allergic to scones. And Alice knows how bad hers are. (But honestly, who can live in England without eating scones? Everyone has to eat that at one point in their time in the country… right?) To make the matter worse, when Allison comes back from work that night, he tells her that one of his college friends is food-poisoning, and that aforementioned friend happens to have the name Kiku Honda.

That Japanese is Allison's friend, no wonder why she finds his name familiar, since once you're friend with Allison, you must have visited the Kirkland household at least one time.

Alice spends the whole night recalling any memories with him, but it's difficult. There is no friend of Allison's that impolite and annoying. Come to think of this, he's only impolite to her. She's thought it is because of her terrible cooking, but now, it might be for an entirely difficult reason.

Oh, think, Alice, think.

Emptiness. She can't remember.

Maybe that time, it wasn't important enough.

* * *

Due to the teacher's illness, the classes have to be postponed for a half of month. Some girls jump to the conclusion that 'his skin must be sensitive'. Alice feels a bit guilty – just a bit. She doesn't dare to ask Allison, but she catches herself randomly thinking, is Kiku alright?

After exact time of fifteen days, he's back, all smiling as if nothing has happens, and says how much he misses the class, and of course:

"Thanks to one special soup, I'm given a very enjoyable vacation." His eyes fixes on her (it's just her or his eyes are really really sharp?), a smile on his face, a gentler and slier smile. She smiles back – okay, he can't really harm her, he has no evidence.

"It's the first time…" He continues, smiling very brightly that it's disturbing. "Someone has used scones in soup. Miss Kirkland is such a genius."

"Yes, it's my unique idea." She forces a smile, hoping that her voice isn't shaking. He laughs lightly, if she didn't know better, she would definitely think it's the nicest laugh she's ever heard. The guilty feeling is now turned into 'puzzlement' and 'regret'. What will he do with her?

After that, Kiku spends the whole lesson lecturing about the-heart-of-the-cook.

"First, you have to make sure that the ingredients are fresh. Second, find out as much as information about what food your 'victim' is allergic to, (he's sending her a meaningful look) because it can be very dangerous. It's a common knowledge, I believe. Furthermore, remember what kinds of food mix together will cause food-poisoning. So, does anyone have question?"

"If that person is forgetful, then –" Alice raises her hand. " – does he have to take responsibility?"

"It depends on how much harm that person does." He's delighted, she can say.

Note to self: Every guy with black hair whose name is Kiku Honda is really merciless with his words. Honestly, that guy is polite to everyone but her. She wonders how he'll make her pay for it. Ordering her to wash more dishes, insulting her in front of everyone, or forcing her to eat those terrible left-overs?

What does she do to defy the high power above that she has to meet him?

* * *

Weekend, she goes to the centre. Nothing has happened during two weeks, but Alice can't get her guard down. Alex has taught her to be on constant alert, because your worst enemy may appear when you're least expected.

She stops at the door, staring at the chaos. A turkey hen is tied against a chair and squeaking loudly, some fishes jump up and down in the bucket, and there're crabs at the corner of the room.

"Oh, Miss Alice." Whenever Kiku calls her name, it's a bad sign. "Please finish the hen and the fishes and crabs. I'd appreciate your help."

"What?" She cries. How can she do it? "But I haven't…" He's the one who never lets her do anything but wash dishes and pick vegetable!

"It's the requirement to pass the basic. You have to do it."

"But..." All she knows is hit the fish's head with the knife!

"And please be careful with the crabs, they may attack you."

Alice shots Kiku a dark look. She knows it, she knows he will make her life miserable. Compared to him, Allison and Alex sound like extremely responsibly brothers and Amelia and Francoise are really good friends. She takes the knife and grabs the hen, "May you reborn as human." Her hands are shaking when she holds the knife near its neck.

And the hen peaks her in the arms, hard, she loses control, and the knife adds another nasty cut to her fingers. Grimacing in pain, she hears the sound of breaking dishes everywhere. Kiku's telling others not to let the hen escape from the window. Alice scowls. He's all talk and good at ordering people around.

Suddenly, a bigger hand takes hers. "Are you alright? The cut looks bad. Come on, you have to make the bleeding stop." To say Alice's shock can be an understatement. She feels her traitor of a face heating up and hangs her head down before nodding.

No one can catch the animal, so the party is delayed until when-who-knows. Everyone is cleaning the mess, and it's strange that no one blames her. Alice starts awkwardly:

"Sir…?"

"Please, just call me Kiku."

She breathes in relief, and smiles. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Oh, and now she's getting more and more nervous.

"Kiku…"

"Hm?" He doesn't take his eyes off her fingers.

"Do you hate me?"

He looks at her weirdly before smiling – the same smile, but it's somehow different, much gentler, much brighter. "Why do you think that?"

"Because…"

"Because I've made things difficult to you during all lessons?"

"I…" The world is falling her here.

"But I must politely refuse to answer that." Kiku shakes his head. "It's better if you remember yourself. I'll give you a hint, the thing happened two years ago, when your brother invited me to come over for dinner."

She honestly doesn't remember.

"Then why do you teach people how to cook?"

"There has to be a reason?"

"Because you think girl needs to know how to cook to get married."

"I haven't said I think that."

"What?"

"You're sometimes slow, Miss Alice." He says, she scowls in response. He laughs lightly – damn him and his nicest in the world laugh!

"Gender doesn't have anything to with it. Everyone needs to make good food, especially for their dear ones."

She blinks and brightens at his words: "Does it mean I don't have to wait hundred years to get married?"

"That… oh, I have no idea." She puffs her cheeks. "Just don't give me scones." He pats her shoulder. "Miss Alice is a good girl."

She wonders if she should let him know – that… he's the actually motivation that she hasn't left that class.

A touch to her ear makes her startle, and a whisper follows: "If the worst happens, I won't let you wait hundred years."

Please God, tell her that he isn't saying what she's thinking.

* * *

" _Excuse me, can you show me the way to the Kirkland household?"_

_The girl seems to startle by his question before looking up from her book. And suddenly all Kiku can see is green, the forest green that reminds him so much of his old home._

_"Go straight ahead, and do you see that big house, the Kirklands live on the left of that house. I assume that Allison has forgotten to give you the direction?"_

_"How can you -?"_

_Before he can finish the question, a loud voice calls:_

_"Hey, Alice! I finally found you!"_

_She turns to him, "That's the way", before going towards the other girls._

_Kiku knows what happiness looks like, blonde hair and green eyes and a tale of wonderland._

_(Alice)._


End file.
